Naming a property is an action future owners have to live with too.  Not only does it extend your personality, it could also demonstrate your property’s historical past.  This could be important if you’ve converted a disused building, especially if it previously wasn’t in domestic use.  Be warned.  Choosing a name is not the same as choosing wallpaper.  You won’t be changing it every few years.  And all householders should like it.  If they don’t, they’ll only be reminded of it every time the postman calls.

History           In small towns and villages, house names often refer to the property’s history.  Names like The Old Blacksmith’s and The Old School House clearly identify a previous life and unique features in their structure can illustrate this.  Contact the local library or historian to see what they can reveal about your properties past life, and ask the neighbours what they know.  Probably best to avoid something like The Brothel though.

Colour                        Colours can be evocative, such as The White House or The Red House, but choose carefully.  Deciding that your lilac coloured property should be called Lilac Cottage may well infuriate the other Lilac Cottage in the village that has lilac bushes outside the front door.  Choosing a colour limits you to that colour for some time, and increases painting maintenance.  Alternatively you could just let the paintwork go, and plump for All Flaked Out! 

Maps               Look at the Ordnance Survey’s Explorer series of maps for your area (2 ½ inches to the mile) for useful local historical features.  These include disused railway lines, windmills, quarries, monuments, administrative boundaries, sites of antiquities, battle sites, earthworks, roman villas and non-roman remains such as ancient burial mounds, prehistoric tombs, and ancient hill forts.  I wonder if in fifty years time, we’ll be naming our properties The Wind Turbine?

Old Maps       Ordnance Survey and other printers reproduce historical maps from previous centuries, which can be found in specialist map shops, large bookstores or stationers.  They cover a county but will focus on a county’s old boundaries not today’s borders.  There may not be much detail but search for old railway lines, Roman roads or droving roads.  Alternatively if your property is on the crease of a map, why not call it The Fold? 

Geology         The surrounding geology can provide excellent house names.  Ignore general names like Hillview, The Coppice or The Brow and look for more unusual features.  Bring the locality into your house name because this improves the uniqueness of the name and suggests harmony between house and landscape.  In Shropshire, Hope Bowdler Hill is a 700-foot high grassy mound, yet the Ordnance Survey map identifies a large rocky outcrop on the hill, known as the Gaer Stone.  The nearby farm is called Gaerstones Farm and another property is named Gaer View.  Hillview suggests a nice view from the property yet Gaer View latches onto the local natural feature.

Flora               Floral references are popular because they promote a rural image, but ensure the reference has longevity.  Imagine a Yew Tree Cottage without a Yew Tree, or The Firs with only deciduous trees on its land.  For credibility your name needs its link to be obvious for twelve months of the year. 

Fauna             Animals can also suggest useful names, such as Kestrel’s Rise, Buzzard’s Rest, Fox Cottage or Squirrel’s Drey.  What’s you local animal population dominated by?  Rats and flies are probably best not mentioned though!

Work               What about you yourself?  This new building you’ve created or converted will be your home.  Is it also where you’ll work, or have you retired from an unusual career?  Crofter’s Cottage, Thatcher’s Rest, Writer’s Retreat are a few examples.  Porn star’s Pad might upset the neighbours.

Hobbies          Perhaps you have an unusual hobby and your conversions will enable you to develop it further?  Pigeons Coop for homing pigeon racers,Painters Paradise if you use brush and easel, or what about Basket Case if you’re into weaving dried grass?

Legends         Ghosts and ghouls scare some people, yet others love them, and local folklore could provide the name you’ve been looking for.  Libraries and the Internet are excellent sources of local legends and who knows, perhaps The Hauntings could keep away unwanted salesmen?

            Having settled on a name it’s necessary to inform your local authority in writing, clearly stating the existing property name if there is one, the proposed name you want and what date you want the change to take effect.  It is usually the Building Control or Planning Department who will undertake a check to ensure that your name doesn’t clash with any existing names in the locality.  It’s a good idea to wander around your locality first to see which names exist and to check that your idea hasn’t already been used.  If it does, the Authority will inform you, and ask for a new suggestion.  You’ll also be asked for an alternative if the Authority feels that your name isn’t appropriate for public display.

If your property already has a house number, you’ll have to retain the number.  House names cannot replace numbers, and the number must remain displayed upon your property for use by the Royal Mail and Emergency Services.  New buildings in an existing numbered street will be allocated the next logical number.  Only if your property exists in a non-numbered street, will your house name suffice. 

Once the Local Authority are satisfied with your property name, they will advise the Royal Mail, the Emergency Services, Utility companies, Land Registry, and update the Electoral Register and Council Tax details on your behalf.  It is then your responsibility to notify all other interested parties such as friends and family, banks and anyone else who regularly corresponds with you.

Once your house name has been accepted, the decisions are over.  Actually, they’re not.  How will you display your property name?  What style of writing will you choose?  Will it be on the property or at the entrance?  Will you mount it on wood, slate, metal, or clay?  And you thought choosing the kitchen units was difficult!